Preparationpalooza, August -style

We are home from all our car trips, the latest being a nice visit with Meghann and fam in Kalamazoo. Now, we must get down to all the preparation for our Chinese student, who will be living with us for the school year. That and I just have to undertake refinishing our wood floors and doing a deep cleaning of the whole house. That's just how I do.

Also, since July 4th, my Mother-in-law has either been hospitalized or in rehab. Today, she is in the hospital, as the docs are having a hard time getting her stabilized. Bob had been heroically holding down the fort and keeping up with Mom till I got home a few days ago. Ben was the resident cook and cat companion.

So, as I sit writing this, with my week-old sunburn simultaneously itching and then hurting, I am gearing up for lots of Stuff. Malaika will become a high school student in mere weeks, and if you have had one or more of those, you know how busy and slightly stressful the run up can be. Uniforms, tryouts for sports, physicals and dental check ups, ID pictures, orientation, becoming a fledgling Septa rider, supplies... oh, and the ever lovely tuition and sundry expensive fees. And then when our student arrives, (whenever that will be), we get to run about getting her outfitted as well! I hope she gets here before the very last minute.

Here are a few pictures from Michigan. I fear I am not up to a very good narration. Everyone had a turn with a cold, and now is mine. I have been having a slow re-entry into post vacation life.

 We had frequent backyard bonfires in the evenings. Some nights, the fires were sluggish to get started. Yes, that is the dried out top of their Christmas tree. Smelled nice!

 Kaden's garden, and then a bunch of posed pics in front of all the pretty daisies by Meghann's shed.

And then the beach pics. I love going to Lake Michigan.

 Malaika, Kaden and Rachael building a sand castle.

 Kaden likes the warm sand, sans towel, after a swim.

Meghann takes ambush shots when I am not looking, You can see what a beautiful day it was. though. 

 Here we are at Bell's. There are tons of breweries in Kalamazoo. We were never lacking good beer!

Kaden and I at Olive Garden. You can see he got an owie by his eye. He ran into a gate latch a few days before this. He bore it bravely. Boys! :)

 Here is the Jesus-mobile we saw in downtown Kalamazoo one day. Giving Jesus a bad name...

 Rachael

I am still pondering the future of this blog. I may stop, but it kind of feels like a part of me. I have been at it for four years! Or I may narrow the focus. Whatever I finally decide, thanks for reading my thoughts.



Not that this is an aside in the realm of importance, but if you are a person of prayer, please pray for our unraveling world. And for everyone who is being persecuted or terrorized or mistreated. I wish I could say I am surprised, but it has all been building for some time now. Now would be a very good time for people to find, rediscover, build up, deepen, or otherwise pay attention to their faith. Teach your children now, while you still can. Openly at least. We are going to stand out from society in starker and starker relief, and it may not be an acceptable thing in the days to come.

Pray the Divine Mercy.


1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed.
2. Then on the Our Father Beads say the following:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
3. On the 10 Hail Mary Beads say the following:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
(Repeat step 2 and 3 for all five decades).
4. Conclude with (three times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

In 1933, God gave Sister Faustina a striking vision of His Mercy,
Sister tells us:
"I saw a great light, with God the Father in the midst of it.
Between this light and the earth I saw Jesus nailed to the Cross
and in such a way that God, wanting to look upon the earth, had to
look through Our Lord's wounds and I understood that God blessed
the earth for the sake of Jesus."
Of another vision on Sept. 13, 1935, she writes:
"I saw an Angel, the executor of God's wrath... about to strike
the earth...I began to beg God earnestly for the world with words
which I heard interiorly. As I prayed in this way, I saw the
Angel's helplessness, and he could not carry out the just
punishment...."
The following day an inner voice taught her to say this prayer on
ordinary rosary beads:
"First say one 'Our Father', 'Hail Mary', and 'I believe'. Then on
the large beads say the following words:
'Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement
for our sins and those of the whole world.'
On the smaller beads you are to say the following words:
'For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the
whole world.'
In conclusion you are to say these words three times:
'Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us
and on the whole world'.
Jesus said later to Sister Faustina:
"Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who
says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests
will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most
hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will
receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want the whole world to
know My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to
those who trust in My Mercy...."
"....When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I
will stand between My Father and the dying person not as the just
judge but as the Merciful Savior".


Read more:http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/dmmap.htm#ixzz38L9anUA0

                    

7 quick TV, movie and book recommendation takes

1. As I mentioned in last week's 7-some-kind-of-takes post, I recently watched the movie, The Way.
I so recommend it, in fact, I want to watch it again and see if I can get Bob hooked too. I already snagged Corrie into wanting to go and do it. I hope before we are too decrepit. All are welcome!

2. I also watched the movie Lorenzo's Oil. I think Manny suggested it? Manny, the reader of 1000 books a year, or something. The movie is about a real story of a boy who comes down with a rare disease, adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). His parents research and find a treatment that later becomes an accepted treatment for the disease. Of course I went and read up on the real people. Apparently, the father was not overly thrilled with every choice made by the film maker, such as the choice of actor (Nick Nolte) and his affected Italian accent. I thought he was very good, not having a high standard for Italian accents. His wife is played by Susan Sarandon.
 Some situations in the movie, and in the real lives of this family, were not very storybook. If the quote was correct, the father said he would have opted to abort the boy if he had known how much he would suffer. Given his actions during his son's life, I am not sure if that was a reactionary statement or what. Even knowing that, I believe the film has value. The father was given an honorary medical degree for his research, and his treatment is still used for that disease, and other neurological diseases. I thought it was well done, and life affirming.

3. I am currently semi-addicted to three TV shows. In order of addiction:
---Downton Abbey. Yes, yes, it's all the rage now, but I have been watching it with rabid-fan-hunger, great interest since the first season. The last season and this are supposed to be bringing the story line through the roaring twenties and reflecting the changed in thinking for the British aristocracy. I have no idea how accurate it is, but I read that the costumes are quite on point. They are definitely beautiful to behold. I do have a feeling that they are sneaking in some social issues from the present
day, in order to keep the excitement level high, add some sensationalism, and keep the viewers coming back. For some of us, who were perfectly happy with the acting and nicely flowing British banter, the addition of nonstop social issues is not a nice one. I know I went to this show to get away from that sort of thing. I have already read that some die hard fans have quit watching. I am not quite ready to go there, because, as I said. Addiction. Also, I read a few hints and accidentally, one spoiler, that gives me some hope.
 I remember also liking Call The Midwife, but I found the way they portrayed abortion to be a little too painful. I still think it is probably a good show, but I have been trying to watch TV for relaxation and pleasure, and that was a bit too raw. I am still watching news, but that may go too, at least during Lent.You know, going for some kind of stillness.




--Parenthood. This is not one that I would watch with my kids. What I do like about it is the way the Bravermans (little Willie Loman going on there, whatever that is called) battle through all of life's twists and turns together. This setting, unlike Downton Abbey, is the right vehicle for all manner of family and child raising issues. The realism depicted is not one I would really like to have to constantly explain to kids, especially very suggestionable kids. But I do think it is well written and acted. I am not quite as addicted to this show, but I do somehow get around to watching all the episodes On Demand to find out what happened. And all the characters are so darn attractive. The kids are a-dorable, especially Max, who has Asperger's Syndrome.  Interestingly, Ray Romano also stars, and his character is discovering, in adulthood, that he also has Asperger's.






4. On my new Kindle Fire, given to me by my dear husband who clearly didn't know what he was getting himself into, there are many and sundry ways to read books for free. (h/t to Meghann and Marie). The offerings on these sites is kind of hit and miss, and I have this thing that makes me want to finish a book to see how it ends, even if it's bad. That aside, I came upon an author I really like.

 William Landay is a lawyer, and he depicts the legal process with detail, but not tedious detail. (The whole reason I like to watch the last fifteen minutes of Law and Order). Love those courtroom dramas, but only if they have some realism. The way he paints his characters causes the reader to either like, hate, or suspect them, and then in the end, WHAMMO, we were wrong! If you read very many suspense thrillers, you will know that one can usually work out the ending by the end of the first chapter or two. Not this time! He has another book out, but I am currently reading a couple others and haven't gotten around to it yet.


5. Stay with me now, these next couple are not sort of Universally Appealing. But I have my reasons.

The Incredible Dr. Pol. Initially I started watching this because I thought Malaika would like it, as she has expressed a desire to someday become a veterinarian. Then, I saw that he lives and practices in Michigan, which to me is fascinating. Then, I just liked it myself, even when Malaika wasn't around to watch. Warning: not the greatest show for snacking while watching. Some really real reality.
I love his sense of family and community. The people are the opposite of the Parenthood cast; first of all, real, and secondly, not polished or fixed up for the camera. Dr. Pol, who I believe is about 71, goes about shirtless during some of his farm calls. He's a vigorous, healthy guy and gives us hope for being 71, some very long time from now. Of course, most of us don't work like he does, but still. He has another doctor working with him, Dr. Brenda, who is pretty amazing in her own right. Summary:Wholesome of message, slightly gory of image.

6.     

The Dog Whisperer. Now understand, I don't even have a dog. That alone says something for the show. Yes, I would like to own a dachshund or two someday, when I have that house and land I go on about, but I am not watching solely to become educated on doggy psychology. It's the people psychology that Mr. Cesar Millan teaches I find so interesting.

Also interesting is that both he and Dr, Pol are immigrants. Dr. Pol, from Sweden, and Mr. Millan, from Mexico. (Obv, I know).

And of course I went and read up on Cesar Millan. Turns out he went through a divorce during the course of filming his many seasons of The Dog Whisperer. If you watch certain episodes, he does talk about it, and to his credit, if he is being truthful, he is not flippant or dismissive about it, and reveals that he went through a period of depression and suicidality. I respect him for his candidness, it doesn't appear that he said those things to be sensational, but just to add his humanity to the person we see on the show.

One definitely gets a Zen feeling from him,  and a bit of New agey-ness. But some of the stuff he says is really profound and solid in a universal way. For instance: if the activity happening around dog he is working with distracts, upsets, or causes the dog to display his problem behavior, Cesar always says, "this is good, it is an opportunity to learn." Exposure therapy, more or less. The owners usually have spent considerable time and effort to shield the dog from all it's triggers, and Mr. Millan shows up and takes them through all of them, sometimes multiple times in a row. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the dog responds. The owners often take a little longer. It really makes you think! He also talks about "calm, assertive energy." That dogs pick up on how we feel and react more to that than what we say or do. I think there is wisdom in that, not in a hocus-pocus sort of way, but more for a call-upon-our-inner-Jesus-resource kind of way, that could be helpful in many more ways than relating to the animals in our lives. In a word, trust. That's how I filter it, anyways.

7. Okay. Last up, and either least or most controversial, depending on your perspective.

Fox News. I don't even need to link to it, because you either watch it all the time or have it blocked.

I do watch, and mostly like the channel. There are some loud detractors, but the number of likers far outnumbers the number of haters. The haters are just more vocal. (News coverage of the six protestors at the March for Life, numbering at a quarter million plus, anyone?) (in the bitter cold and snow?)

 I think we get much more of a scope of news. Things that other networks won't touch. Many of the anchors are lawyers. They are all smart. As for likability, I would say I enjoy listening to 95%. A few just aren't my cup of tea. Megyn Kelly is my favorite, followed by Martha McCallum. The qualities that attract me most are fearlessness, intelligence, wit, and politeness in candor. I love The Five. Bill O'Reilly, we tolerate because he does a good show, but he can be a bit much.

Yes, sure, I have been accused of leaning 'too far' to the right. Whatev. My beliefs and perspective don't come from Fox News, but rather, I hear my beliefs and perspective included there, which I can't say for any other news outlet.

I do get a bit news-overloaded and stressed out from news in general, and as I said before, hope to take a bit of a break.


* I apologize to anyone who read this the same day I posted, (Friday). I think when I added in that clever moving picture of Maggie Smith, My paragraphs got all jumbled. 

A post-a-day #2. rearranging the house and the heart

Like my daughter Meghann, I buy plants first, ask questions later. Such as, "where will this possibly go?"  This beautiful baby hydrangea had take-me-home vibes coming off it in waves. I guess it felt the Arrangement of living at Trader Joe's in Center City wasn't working out. It needed a commitment. It proceeded to look at me with its little plaintive pink and green blooms till I couldn't withstand it any longer.
The light out front is right by the textbook (east-facing) so, we'll see. The heat wave last week with temps over 100 degrees required several waterings a day.

Right next to him are my Michigan ferns. So named because Meghann dug up a few for me to bring home. They are also very thirsty. I visit these and the hydrangea every morning first thing. It is nice to have this little piece of Michigan here in the South of Philly.

 I also have this lovely wall sconce, given to me by Meghann, which she took right off her kitchen wall! She has something else in mind for that spot, and she knows of my affinity for wrought iron.

 After taking this picture, I felt it needed to be flanked with a little more color, so I swapped out the picture on the left with this one.

A little blurry, but another nice momento from my last visit with Meghann. We each painted the tree painting at a fun art class that included beer. And for me, sunburn.







Taking away the first picture necessitated putting it elsewhere, so it ended up in my kitchen.

 --which displaced another few things--some went over here--

 which left this one piece out--

Aannnnd--okay! I give up. I stubbed my toe on a chair and hammered a finger. I give! 

*breaking news* no, really, I mean it. The stubbed toe is indeed broken.

One other little fun thing I want to share is my back "yard." It is where I keep all the rest of my growing things and hang up laundry and read and sunbathe.

my "tumbling tom" --from -- you guessed it -- Michigan. Kalamazoo Farmers Market, to be exact.







I keep the little jewels here until we are ready to eat them.

Here is what I look at while sitting out there.

 

 miniature roses

 The little rustic corner that makes a very pleasant vignette. The ivy in the pot is a rescue from an almost dead plant. The "weeds" growing around everything migrated out of the bed. These were also brought home from Michigan last year. (We thought we had dug up tiger lilies). Actually they are called "common-day flowers." Little purple-blue flowers open in the morning and close later. And some basil and a few colors of begonias. A cat gets in there every now and then and uproots the pink begonias. If it so happens that my neighbor is reading this--please stop letting your kitty out to use my little corner of Escape-from-the-city as his potty.


And this is what I look up at and out from under. It is peaceful.

All this adds greatly to my peace of mind and helps me take time out from the goings on of the world.

Along with doing the Marian consecration--

--this one--










 I am reading this.   

My copy is not this fancy. 

It is not a super quick read, but not difficult either. Just very pithy. I can read and re-read it, and always be taught something new.


Here is where I am in it right now:

"To humble myself I resolve to do such and such things, to suffer such and such humiliations. I desire to change my life and henceforward to follow my Creator and to find honor in the state of being he has given me, employing it entirely in obedience to his will..."


As I have said to Bob many times, the vocation of parenthood affords one the automatic blessing of having built-in humiliations and opportunities for making sacrifices. We are taught daily about how to go beyond ourselves, and if seen as the good that it is, it is a light burden indeed.

The part about finding "honor in the state of being he has given me," has been unusually eye opening. I mean, yes, yes, we all know it is an honor to be a spouse, a parent, a child of God in any vocation--BUT-- to think of where I am, where you are in your life right. this. minute. as something he has given to us. Now that is something to consider.

Anyways, I just barely made it in time to still date this post today!

See you tomorrow!

What I did on my summer (okay, Spring) vacation

Hello! Yes I am still alive. I haven't had two minutes in a row for quite a while, and don't have too many at my disposal right now, but really wanted to share a bit about my trip. This picture was taken from the bus that took me from the Detroit airport to Jackson, MI., on my way to see Meghann and Co. It was a lovely sunset~ and after approximately 97 tries, this was the best I could do. But you get the idea!

 

Poor Jackson! Kind of a dying town; the only thing left there is the prison. Which kind of explains the general atmosphere, and perhaps even the Welcome Cabbage under the bench at the hotel where the bus let off.

  But then the real fun began - I spent ten days with my daughter, her husband and my grandson. I had him to myself the first day- we played inside-he felt that it was a day to lounge in pj's and what could I do but agree, cause, when isn't it?

But then even that tired us out--

 Then later was swim class.

He had this smile pasted on his face the entire time he was in the water-

                                        

this kid is too much. Maybe its the Nonnie in me, but really, look at that face.

 playing outside

                  eating his fave-pancakes







Right after we ate at this little place (where in fact Meghann used to work), we went to a playground in downtown Kalamazoo. It included a verrry high castle-like playscape thingy, with one of those corkscrew  enclosed slides. Again. Very high. There was just one panel  on the side from which an unsuspecting child could fall. Naturally, this precipitated either Meghann or I having to go up with him and then down the slide. (Meghann did this with keys, phone, and coffee in hand). But the worst was the first turn of the corkscrew. It practically took your leg off! Meghann has a few shots of me at the bottom. Maybe I will be able to get some from her...ahem. :D Not flattering but pretty amusing.

Here are some shots of our gardening. We started this bed last year, and this year, turned the whole thing over and added that black stripping in the back, and broken stone in the front. That alone represents so much more work than meets the eye! The light pink plants are flowering tobacco. She also puts morning glories along the fence to climb up. Hopefully, I will get some pictures of how things progress!

   A few we didn't get planted before I left.

 magnolia--planted last year. still a baby, but pretty.

I put in the circular bed last year. This is freshly planted, with snapdragons in the middle. It should turn out beautifully! IF the birds don't eat all the wildflower seeds, that is..
  There was plenty more, of which I somehow lost my photos...

Teaching Kaden to roll down hills.

At the Kalamazoo Nature Center

the craft he made

 I got to watch a friend's baby too one day. Kaden is ready to be a big brother. (face with eyebrows raised_here_)

                             gripping Kadens golf ball.

  another crash nap in the car

right before I left he treated me to a show

  and this was sent to my phone as I was travelling--a consolation Scooby Doo ice cream. Notice Sophie watching from the doorway.

















Of course I really miss them. He is growing up before my eyes and Meghann and Jeff are so great to be around. Here are a few nice moments of special days we had together-

It is hard being far apart. We do talk frequently, and share pictures. I think that they have a very good life there, though. We all hope to meet at my brothers in North Carolina this summer (Gary-if you are reading this, is that okay? lol) which would be a really grand time. God willing!

I have lots to share with you. This is just a little album of ten days in May that were precious to me.

God Bless you!

Kelly